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US$11bn Confluent acquisition boosts IBM’s AI infra
Business-to-business (B2B) tech giant IBM (NYSE: IBM) is acquiring data-streaming specialist Confluent (NASDAQ: CFLT) in an all-cash deal valued at US$11 billion, marking one of IBM’s most significant moves yet to strengthen its position in hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure (AI). IBM will purchase all outstanding Confluent shares at US$31 each, expanding its portfolio with technology designed to move and manage data across modern, distributed IT environments. The acquisition adds a platform widely used for processing and governing data in motion — a capability becoming increasingly essential as enterprises race to support AI systems that depend on immediate, reliable access to information. Embedded in the open-source Apache Kafka framework, Confluent’s technology enables organisations to connect disparate systems and stream data in real time, a requirement for deploying generative and agent-based AI tools at scale. Industry forecasts point to dramatic growth in software development and data generation. Global provider of market intelligence, IDC, projects that more than one billion new logical applications will be created by 2028, a surge expected to reshape enterprise architectures. Thes
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Life360 falls 3.8%; Director sells off US$1.1m in stock
ASX-listed shares of Life360 (NASDAQ: LIF, ASX: 360) were down 3.8% by 3:45 pm AEDT (4:45 am GMT) after Director, Mark Goines, quietly sold more than US$1.1 million worth of stock in the company. A Securities and Exchange Commission filing on December 3 declared that Goines sold off over 15,000 shares of common stock in the GPS and tracking company, with a value of US$1.11 million. The shares were sold at prices ranging from $74.13 to $74.46. Goines now directly owns 6,070 shares of Life360 common stock, which includes 2,339 restricted stock units, as well as indirectly owning 56,809 shares held by the Goines Wong Living Trust. According to CommSec, although 360's 200-day moving average is trending higher, there is significant evidence that the bullish trend is near an end. Recent price action has shown a lack of strength as the 5-day moving average has fallen below the 50-day moving average, and the 20-day moving average is trending lower. Consensus is Moderate Buy. This article does not constitute financial or product advice. You should consider independent advice before making financial decisions.
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SpaceX denies reports of US$800bn valuation
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has denied reports that the company is seeking a US$800 billion (A$1.21 trillion) valuation ahead of a potential initial public offering in 2026. The Wall Street Journal reported that SpaceX had begun a secondary share sale that would value the company at $800 million. This would be double its reported $400 billion valuation in July, during a previous share sale. “There has been a lot of press claiming SpaceX is raising money at $800B, which is not accurate. SpaceX has been cash flow positive for many years and does periodic stock buybacks twice a year to provide liquidity for employees and investors,” wrote Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla, X, and xAI. Musk credited the growth in valuation to SpaceX’s reusable rockets and satellite internet offerings. “Valuation increments are a function of progress with Starship and Starlink and securing global direct-to-cell spectrum that greatly increases our addressable market.” An $800 billion valuation would make SpaceX the world’s most valuable privately held company. OpenAI set the previous record in October with a $500 billion valuation. SpaceX has also told investors that it is targeting an IPO in the second half of 2026, The Information reported.
Tech
Luma AI confirms London office following US$900m funding
Nvidia-backed startup Luma AI has confirmed it will base its international operations in London with a cohort of about 200 employees following a recent US$900 million (A$1.4 billion) capital injection. The Palo Alto company announced on Tuesday that the UK capital will serve as the central point for its expansion outside the United States. To lead the new office, Luma has appointed former WPP exec Jason Day as Head of EMEA. Day, formerly the exec VP of Global Growth at Monks, will manage the company’s business development across the region. Luma AI COO Caroline Ingeborn said Day’s background was suited to the company's growth phase. “His leadership... makes him the ideal leader to drive our next chapter. With Jason leading from London, Luma AI can bring creative intelligence directly into the hands of marketers and storytellers around the world."London expansionLuma plans to hire approximately 200 employees for the London base by 2026 for R&D. The recruitment drive will target roles in engineering, strategy, and partnerships, accounting for roughly 40% of the company’s total workforce. “London has some of the best people when it comes to research, given the universities here and institutions like DeepMind,” Luma CEO
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Boaz Weinstein demands EWIT board overhaul
Activist investor and Saba Capital founder Boaz Weinstein is calling for the removal of the entire board at the Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust (EWIT) Saba holds around 30% of shares in the Trust, which is led by Baillie Gifford. Weinstein released the letter on Thursday, which called for a overhaul of the entire board, after they have “objectively and categorically failed” to meet shareholder expectations. He also went on to say that the rate of value destruction at the Trust was “unprecedented” value destruction, pointing to EWIT's 30% decline in net asset value over the last five years. The Trust's current portfolio is made of a international mix of public and private companies focused on innovative technology, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which makes up 8.4% of the portfolio. In response, the current chair of EWIT, Jonathan Simpson-Dent, said they were “disappointed by Saba's open letter”. “Throughout the last year we have sought to engage with Saba to understand their objectives and to enter into a constructive dialogue regarding options for an equitable and holistic solution, including a return of capital," he wrote in a statement. “Saba's open letter does not represent the significant progress EWI

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Verizon to cut over 13k jobs in major restructuring
United States wireless carrier Verizon will reduce its workforce by more than 13,000 in its largest single layoff as it aims to shrink costs and restructure operations. The company said it plans to convert 179 corporate-owned retail stores into franchised operations and close one store. Alongside the job cuts, Verizon said it will also significantly reduce outsourced and other outside labour expenses. "Our current cost structure limits our ability to invest significantly in our customer value proposition," Schulman wrote in a note to employees seen by Reuters. "We must simplify our operations to address the complexity and friction that slow us down and frustrate our customers." Last week, news outlets reported that Verizon planned to cut approximately 15,000 employees, with most of the layoffs affecting its American workforce. According to Schulman, the company will be establishing a US$20 million career transition fund for laid-off employees to focus on "opportunities and necessary skill sets as we enter the age of AI”, despite saying he layoffs were not a result of AI. At the end of last year, the wireless carrier had 100,000 employees, according to security filings. A spokesperson for Verizon confirmed t
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Larry Summers resigns from OpenAI on Epstein connection
Former United States Treasury Secretary Larry Summers has resigned from the OpenAI board after Congress released documents revealing a close connection between Summers and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Summers said he would be stepping back from all public commitments to allow himself to rebuild trust and repair relationships”. "In line with my announcement to step away from my public commitments, I have also decided to resign from the board of OpenAI," Summers said in a statement to Axios. "I am grateful for the opportunity to have served, excited about the potential of the company and look forward to following their progress." Summers was also a former Harvard president, and the university said it is set to launch an investigation into his connections to Epstein. The investigation will also look into other university affiliates named in the documents, according to the university’s newspaper, where Summers is still a professor. "Larry has decided to resign from the OpenAI Board of Directors, and we respect his decision. We appreciate his many contributions and the perspective he brought to the Board," OpenAI 's board of directors said in a statement. Trump has ordered the U.S. Justice Department to
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Anthropic hits cloud trifecta with US$30bn Microsoft deal
Anthropic has secured commitments of up to US$15 billion from Microsoft and NVIDIA as part of a sweeping strategic partnership that will see the Claude maker spend $30 billion on Azure compute capacity and adopt NVIDIA's next-generation chip architecture. The deal sees Microsoft invest up to $10 billion and NVIDIA up to $5 billion in Anthropic, marking NVIDIA's first deep technology partnership with the AI safety-focused company. Also part of the agreement, Anthropic has committed to purchase $30 billion of Azure compute capacity and contract additional capacity up to one gigawatt. The company's compute commitment will initially run on NVIDIA Grace Blackwell and Vera Rubin systems, with both firms collaborating on design and engineering to optimise performance. "Anthropic is scaling its rapidly-growing Claude AI model on Microsoft Azure, powered by NVIDIA, which will broaden access to Claude and provide Azure enterprise customers with expanded model choice and new capabilities," Microsoft said in a blog post. The partnership makes Claude the only frontier AI model available across all three major cloud platforms - Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud. Microsoft has also committed to continuing C
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Mission Critical: CATL expansions to drive EV innovation
The world's largest battery maker CATL is facing market access risks due to the United States' decoupling legislation, a Pentagon blacklist and potential restrictions on grid components, yet price targets from JP Morgan are a 19% premium to its current share price. Europe is the EV growth corridor - CATL's Hungarian and Spanish plants will determine whether the Ningde-based tech giant maintains global dominance or becomes primarily an Asian supplier. Mixed newsflow from Contemporary Amperex Technology (HKEX: 3750) saw it post a 41% profit jump in Q3, ink a 200 gigawatt hour (GWh) decade-long supply deal and kick off mass production of 5th-generation lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and its Nextra sodium-ion batteries - all major milestones for the long term. Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers are cranking up restrictions on Chinese battery imports, a major shareholder offloaded 1% of stock, and cornerstone investors became free to sell from this week. Let's take a deeper look at the metrics and momentum of one of the most important companies in the electric vehicle revolution.200 GWh energy storage pactThe headline deal this month was a 10-year strategic pact with Beijing Hyperstrong Technology covering 200 GWh of battery supply fo